admin

For most Americans, a prolonged period of unusually low oil prices is a positive. It costs less to fill your tank at the gas station, and lower transportation costs keep the price of goods relatively low. However, there are a few people who are not happy to see low oil prices — led by those

The 80% rule is one of the classic rules of thumb for retirement advice. Financial planners often advise that in order to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement, you should aim to replace 80% of your working income from your retirement resources such as Social Security, investment dividends, and IRA withdrawals. From that point, you

Bank of America (BoA) has reported 2016 first quarter earnings from mortgage banking as $433 million, a decline from their $694 million in the first quarter of 2015. This is due to the bank selling fewer secondary market loans, Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio reports.
Donofrio explained that the bank’s strategy is to place more

How much will you be paying in federal income taxes this year? According to data from 2013, the average individual American tax bill was over $8,500 — yet there are large corporations making millions of dollars in profit and paying no income taxes. According to USA Today, 27 large corporations in the S&P 500 reported

Does your ability to pass on your wealth to your heirs depend on where you live … and die? Indeed it does. Federal estate taxes apply no matter where you live within the U.S., but eighteen states subject their citizens to estate taxes or inheritance taxes. The difference between the two is that estate taxes

At various times in life, your mortgage can seem overwhelming – either from the size of the monthly payments or the overall amount of interest you will pay. If you are looking for methods to save either way, here are a few suggestions:
Consider Refinancing – Fixed interest rates are going up again, but they

Homeowners rarely think about dying when they apply for a mortgage, but legal experts urge buyers, especially older buyers, to learn about what happens to their loan and their property if they die before the balance is paid in full. Bernard A. Krooks, an elder law expert, stresses that seniors need to be informed so

You are struggling just to pay your monthly bills, not to mention dealing with the occasional car breakdown, home maintenance item, or unexpected medical bill. You have had to resort to high-interest short-term payday loans to fill the gap, which puts you even further in debt. How can you even think about saving money in

Doctors, dentists, and many others who go into the medical field often graduate with high amounts of student loan debt that they have to begin paying back after six months of graduation. While they may not be making a large amount of money immediately following graduation and have a large amount of debt, they are

When most homebuyers sit down to calculate whether they can afford a particular home, they often assume their monthly mortgage payment will include only the principal and the interest. Many forget to factor in property taxes and their monthly homeowner’s insurance premium. This often leads borrowers to experience sticker shock when they see what a

When making a purchase using a credit card, consumers aren’t simply buying merchandise or paying for services from a merchant; instead, they are involving several third parties in the transaction. These third parties include the company that issued the credit card, the bank used by the merchant, and the network handling the transaction. All of

The Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare if you prefer) has probably had a significant impact on your health insurance. Did you realize that Obamacare has had an effect on your taxes as well? Here are a few of the tax ramifications of the ACA.
Individual Mandate – If you are aware of only one

If you ever wanted to achieve the level of wealth that allows you to hide a large amount of it within the iconic Swiss bank account, you are now officially out of luck. Feel free to target great wealth, but do not expect to be able to evade taxes by parking your assets offshore in

As the tax filing deadline looms, many Americans continue to prepare and file their annual income taxes. For the 86 million taxpayers who own their homes and have a mortgage, there are several different tax deductions they can take advantage of, including deducting their mortgage interest and the insurance premiums of any private mortgage insurance.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have announced that as many as 50,000 homeowners may be eligible for mortgage balance reductions. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has approved the new plan that is aimed at helping those who are struggling to pay their monthly mortgage payments. However, many feel that the plan does not go

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will release new regulations aimed at the payday loan industry in the spring, the agency announced in January. These regulations will help to reduce consumer abuse.
Research by Pew Charitable Trusts shows that 12 million people make use of payday loans every year, with the fees on these loans

Nobody wants to think about his or her own death,
but you owe it to your loved ones to have a sound plan for your assets to avoid
extra expense and aggravation when you pass away. Let’s take a few minutes to review three of
the biggest mistakes you can make in estate planning.

Disaster planning is a critical exercise for most businesses. The idea is to devise contingency plans for the continued ongoing operation of the company in the event of a major storm, fire, terrorist attack or other natural or man-made disaster.
In the same way, individuals should do some financial disaster planning so they can be

When they hear the term “estate planning,” many people immediately think that this doesn’t apply to them because they aren’t “rich.” But you don’t have to be wealthy to have an estate.
The fact is, if you own anything — a home or other real estate, automobile(s), investments, checking and savings accounts or life insurance,

Shopping for life insurance can be confusing if you are not familiar with the terms, and it is not the easiest thing to do even if you are familiar with the lingo. A life insurance agent should be able to explain policies and terms to you in an understandable fashion, and help you to explore

Classically, a pension is a retirement plan where a company or governmental entity sets aside contributions for its employees’ future retirement needs. These funds are invested to increase the available money pool used to meet those future obligations. But over the past 50 years, the definition of pension has expanded to include retirement plans where

According to a report by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, illegal immigrants in the United States pay in almost $12 billion dollars in taxes annually. This amount includes sales, property, income, and excise taxes that go to local and state budgets. The findings contradict the talking points of many politicians seeking support for

The terms “insurance agents” and “insurance brokers” are often used interchangeably and they may be thought of as the same job, but there are differences. The main difference is in the perspective of each insurance professional.
Is an agent or a broker best for you or your business? To make that decision, you first have

Financial professionals have a greater understanding of the value of social media and are seeing dividends from increased use of social media. That is the essence of the findings from the annual Financial Professionals Social Media Adoption Study from American Century Investments.
The vast majority of financial professionals have at least some experience with social

For most kinds of insurance, you have an option of buying through a broker or insurance agent, or buying directly from an insurance carrier. Younger, tech-savvy purchasers have been attracted to the convenience of direct online insurance shopping, but there is still room in the market for your friendly local insurance agent.
If you are

If you find yourself disabled for a short time, your employer may offer short-term disability insurance as part of your benefits package to help you retain some income while you recover. There will be a threshold employment requirement (a certain time of service and employment status) to be eligible. Typically, the range of benefits is

Your kids are growing fast. Before you know it, they will be entering college and looking to you for financial support. Because of the spiraling costs, it is even more important to start your college savings plans and contributions as early as possible.
State 529 plans have become one of the most popular methods for

The U.S. economy has been slowly climbing out of the effects of the Great Recession, but new milestones suggest that we are finally turning the corner toward full recovery. A recent study by The Pew Charitable Trusts noted one such milestone. In a majority of states, inflation-adjusted state tax revenues have topped pre-recession levels.
Using

Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to an accident or prolonged illness. It’s usually broken into short-term insurance (typically one month or less) and long-term (anywhere from a month to a lifetime). Short-term disability insurance usually covers 60-70% of your salary at the time of the

Your car was just inundated in a flash flood, consumed in a fire, blown away by a tornado, or crushed by falling debris. After you make sure that all of your loved ones are okay and your house is intact, you turn your attention to your now-useless car. Does your policy cover natural disasters? If